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Chinas SME fintech adoption rate leads the world EY report

(Xinhua)09:13, July 30, 2019

BEIJING, July 29 — The adoption rate of fintech in Chinas small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ranked first in the world, according to the report, Global FinTech Adoption Index 2019, released by Ernst Young Global Limited (EY).

The adoption rate of fintech in Chinas SMEs reached 61 percent, while that in the United States came in second at 23 percent.

SMEs in emerging markets are particularly heavy users of banking and payment services, with 63 percent using services in that category. In China, the rate is 92 percent.

As for consumers use of fintech, the consumer fintech adoption rate in both China and India reached 87 percent, far ahead of the global average of 64 percent, which indicates the wide application of financial platforms and ecosystems in China.

Money transfer and payment is the most common category. In China, where money transfer and payment apps are pervasive, the adoption rate is 95 percent.

The report was based on online surveys of more than 27,000 consumers in 27 countries and regions and 1,000 SMEs in the United States, UK, China, Mexico and South Africa.

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Chinas property giants to build NEV charging poles for households

(Xinhua)09:18, July 30, 2019

BEIJING, July 29 — Four of Chinas leading property developers have teamed up with the State Grid in setting up new-energy vehicles (NEVs) charging poles for some 8.7 million households.

Property giant Evergrande Group and the State Grid Corporation of China jointly launched a smart energy services company in Shenzhen earlier this month to install NEV charging poles for each parking space in residential communities.

Other real estate developers including Country Garden, Vanke and Sunac have also joined in the venture, extending the charging services to 5,468 communities operated by the four developers and covering an estimated 31 million residents.

NEV owners in these communities can scan a QR code and pay, while the charging poles automatically complete the recharge when power demand is low.

Evergrandes previous NEV-related projects include a two-billion-U.S. dollar subsidiary and three NEV production bases in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou with an investment of 160 billion yuan (about 23.25 billion U.S. dollars).

China has the worlds largest network of charging facilities for NEVs, with one million charging poles installed by the end of June.

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Chinas new economy coming to the fore

(Xinhua)09:20, July 30, 2019

BEIJING, July 29 — At a residential community in Beijing on the western suburbs, several salespersons are touting their new services: with a click on their app, orders of fresh food will be delivered in as fast as 30 minutes from a neighboring warehouse.

The fresh food delivery service is the latest foray into the market made by Meituan Dianping, an online food delivery-to-ticketing services platform, as more and more Chinese tend to buy a growing basket of things online.

The companys expanding app-based services are part of Chinas burgeoning new economy, which features new industries and new forms and models of business that have become new growth drivers.

These new growth drivers contributed 16.1 percent to the countrys GDP last year, up 0.3 percentage points from one year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

They grew 12.2 percent to 14.54 trillion yuan (about 2.11 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2018, 2.5 percentage points higher than the GDP growth.

Those in the tertiary industry were the largest contributors to GDP with a share of 8.5 percent, followed by the secondary industry.

China has economy-of-scale advantages on the internet and digital services thanks to its huge online population, with the service sector enjoying ample growth space, according to Lai Youwei, head of Meituan Research Institute.

Industrial data showed that China had about 829 million internet users by the end of 2018, with a penetration rate of 59.6 percent.

The new economy market players are growing fast. The latest Fortune China 500 list showed that revenue of the new economy sector including electronics and internet services expanded 29 percent year on year last year, outpacing the average growth of the listed firms.

The Mastercard Caixin BBD New Economy Index reading, which tracks activities of over 140 emerging sectors, rose to 30 percent in June thanks to increases of capital input, up 2 percentage points from May, the highest since December 2018.

The State Council said earlier this month that China will foster new growth models of the platform economy, promote the development of the internet plus service industry and support social capital in going to sectors including medicare, education and tourism.

The business environment will be further optimized and the approval procedures for the establishment of new platform firms and their branches will be further streamlined, according to the State Council.

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China-Japan economic cooperation conference kicks off in north China

(Xinhua)10:09, July 30, 2019

HARBIN, July 29 — An economic cooperation conference held in Harbin, capital of northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang Province, Monday attracted more than 380 Chinese and Japanese attenders.

Themed seizing the opportunity of northeast Chinas comprehensive revitalization and promoting practical economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan, the conference was organized by governments of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Japan-China Economic Association.

Diverse activities including keynote speeches, memorandum signing ceremonies and meetings covering fields of manufacturing industry, modern agriculture and food processing, tourism and healthcare for the elderly were held during the conference.

More than 380 representatives from governments, economic organizations and enterprises attended the event.

The conference has been held for 17 sessions since 2000. It is expected to promote bilateral economic and trade exchanges and deepen exchanges and cooperation between Japan and northern China.

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China holds strong appeal to foreign investment

By WangKe,YuSinan,ShenShaotie,LuoShanshan (Peoples Daily)14:07, July 30, 2019

Statistics indicate a steady growth of the scale of foreign investment China has used. Last year, China鈥檚 actual utilization of foreign investment hit a record high. In the first half of this year, the actual utilized value of foreign investment in China rose 7.2 percent from a year ago to reach 478.33 billion yuan.

It is not easy for China to see a steady increase in the utilization of foreign capital as the global transnational investment continues to fall and countries are facing greater challenges in attracting foreign investment, said Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics.

A recent report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that the total size of global cross-border direct investment has fallen from $1.9 trillion in 2015 to $1.3 trillion in 2018.

At present, the in-depth development of economic globalization has encountered twists and turns, including intensified trade and investment disputes, as well as unilateralism and protectionism that have seriously affected the international order and the multilateral trading system. Will this situation affect China鈥檚 utilization of foreign capital?

鈥淭here is an impact, but it is generally controllable,鈥?said Zhang Yansheng, chief research fellow with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Currently, there are indeed some export-oriented labor-intensive enterprises that are transferring their production capacity out of China. 鈥淲e have to see this phenomenon objectively, analyze it rationally and keep calm,鈥?said Zhang.

Although the transfer of production capacity to other countries could reduce costs, it also faces risks brought by uncertainties in such areas as industrial supporting capacity, economic development environment and labor quality. Taking these factors into full consideration, few foreign-funded enterprises would move out of China simply to avoid being hurt by the unilateralism and protectionist measures of the U.S.

There are more reasons for some foreign-funded enterprises to shut down factories in China and transfer their production capacity out of the country, than just to stay away from the negative impact of unilateralism and protectionist measures.

Some enterprises chose to move their production capacity out of China due to their own poor management, and some low-end manufacturing companies did so as due to rising labor and land costs in China.

The global industrial chain is dynamically adjusted and will continue to evolve with the changes in international division of labor and global industrial layout. Therefore, the migration and relocation of the industrial chain is a normal phenomenon under market economy, said Zhang, pointing out that the relocation of foreign capital from low-end manufacturing is in line with the current stage and laws of Chinas economic development.

Facts have proved that thanks to a series of new measures to expand opening up, the actual utilization of foreign capital in Chinas pharmaceutical manufacturing, electronics and communications equipment manufacturing industries in the first half of the year increased by 12.8 percent and 25 percent year-on-year, and that in information services, RD, design services and scientific and technological achievements transformation services increased by 68.1 percent, 77.7 percent and 62.7 percent respectively. The rapid growth of foreign capital utilization in these areas indicates that China has shown strong appeal to high-level and high-quality foreign capital.

China has a well-established industrial system that can form a good industrial ecology and the scale of the industry has delivered obvious advantages. In addition, the country is producing more and more high-quality talents, who can undertake high-end manufacturing, RD and even high-tech services, and the wage level is relatively low compared with developed countries. All these factors are favored by foreign companies, said Xing Houyuan, deputy director of the service outsourcing research center of the Ministry of Commerce.

High-quality foreign investment will stay in China and more such capital will be introduced, said Xing.

Looking ahead, a series of measures to stabilize foreign capital will gradually take effect, and China has the basic conditions to push the utilization of foreign capital to a higher level and higher quality. Zhang said.

Major measures taken by China to expand the opening up of consumption and the manufacturing service industry have boosted the confidence of foreign companies to invest in the country.

The huge market of nearly 1.4 billion people and the strong purchasing power of more than 400 million middle-income earners constitute significant consumption power that no country can match.

Chinas huge market is not only expanding in size, but also rapidly upgrading its structure. The consumers need more high-quality information, medical, health, financial, cultural and other service products. In these fields, multinational companies have obvious advantages and great potential.

By continuously advancing the reform of streamlining administration, delegating powers and improving administration and cutting the number of items subject to government approval, promulgating the Foreign Investment Law, strengthening the facilitation and protection of foreign investment, and implementing a larger scale of tax cuts and reductions, China has significantly reduced the burden for foreign enterprises.

According to a 2019 report released by the World Bank, China moved up 32 spots in the Doing Business Rankings in 2018 compared with the last year.

A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai indicated that more than 80 percent of U.S.-funded companies are optimistic about the prospects for development in China in the next five years.

Another survey conducted by the German Federal Foreign Trade and Investment Agency said that there are more than 5,200 German companies doing business in China. As China continues to expand opening up, more German companies will increase their investment in the country.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have members leaving China because the appeal of the Chinese market is hard to resist,鈥?said Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China.鈥?nbsp;

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Sun Yingsha victorious at Chinese table tennis championships

(Xinhua)11:41, July 30, 2019

TIANJIN, July 30 — World junior champion Sun Yingsha blanked Zhu Yuling 4-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8) at the final of the 2019 China Sports Industry Cup National Table Tennis Championships here on Monday.

It was the first such win for the 18-year-old Sun at the national competition level.

Accomplished youth player Sun Yingsha was the champion at both the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and the 2017 World Junior Championships. However her senior record is no less impressive, with Sun winning the first senior tournament she participated in, the 2017 Japan Open. She also has 7 doubles titles to her name.

The 24-year-old Zhu has won 5 ITTF World Tour titles and reached the world number 1 ranking in December 2017. She also has 5 doubles titles to her name.

Sun, playing on behalf of the Hebei team, was more proactive while Zhu Yuling was conservative and inflexible.

In the first game, the two sides were closely matched, but Sun managed to bag 4 points in a row to win. With one point in hand, Sun played more freely in the second game and eased to win the second game 11-4.

Sun faced a more aggressive Zhu in the third game and the scores were once leveled at 8-8 before Sun steadied herself to claw three points in a row. In the fourth game, Sun dominated throughout to win the title.

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Commentary Shanya Jack drug case exposes blatant double-standard against Sun Yang

(Xinhua)13:17, July 30, 2019

BEIJING, July 29 — New allegations that Swimming Australia may have engaged in a cover-up in order to protect its athlete Shanya Jack, reported by news.com.au, have laid bare the double-standards and utter hypocrisy of the treatment afforded to Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang by both Swimming Australia and some of his fellow athletes.

Jack failed a doping test late that month for a drug called Ligandrol that increases muscle growth, but when she was withdrawn from competition right before things got underway at the Worlds in Gwangju, Swimming Australia cited only personal reasons in explaining its move.

Both Swimming Australia and the countrys sport minister have defended these actions, but their explanations fail to pass muster, at least for any objective observer. Even former Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority chief executive Richard Ings has taken to social media to point out that Swimming Australias initial statement was an untruth.

By lying to the public regarding the Jack case, Swimming Australia has lost every ounce of credibility in its defense of Mack Hortons podium stunt aimed at Sun Yang.

Athletes in these situations have a right to a process, said Swimming Australia chief Leigh Russell, with the countrys Federal Sport Minister Richard Colbeck also echoing these sentiments in calling for due process to be allowed run its course in the Jack case.

Russell and Colbeck could not be more correct in their statements. It is the sole responsibility of international sport governing bodies to adjudicate cases involving potential use of banned substances. So why, when Horton made his attention-grabbing move at the podium with Sun, did Swimming Australia rush to his defense in the name of protecting clean sport? Does Sun Yang not have the same right to due process as Shanya Jack?

Of course, he does. But Swimming Australia is not interested in due process, nor is it interested in protecting clean sport. If it was, the organization would have issued a statement after Hortons move calling on its athletes to respect their fellow competitors and respect due process in all ongoing doping cases. It also would have immediately made Jacks failed test known and promised to do its part to protect clean sport going forward. No such statements were made because this has never been Swimming Australias intention.

FINA has already issued its ruling on the incident involving Suns out-of-competition drug test, clearing him of all wrongdoing. WADA has appealed that decision, and is perfectly within its rights to do so. FINA has also ruled that Sun may continue to compete while that appeal is adjudicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Due process is running its course, and third parties like Swimming Australia and Suns fellow competitors should show respect and restraint in the meantime.

Mack Hortons own hypocrisy has also been made plain as this case unfolds. An ABC News Australia reporter on Saturday approached Horton outside the team bus in Gwangju, asking him if the Jack case had made him regret his earlier actions toward Sun. Horton smirked and stood in silence before making his way to the team bus. While he later issued a statement reiterating his commitment to clean sport, he did not address whether or not he regretted his actions toward Sun given the unfolding scandal in his own swimming association.

It is impossible to ignore the fact that the personal animus between Sun and Horton goes back to Rio 2016. Hortons selective outrage at this years Worlds is a clear indication that he is an opportunist aiming to score personal points against (and generate negative publicity for) a powerful rival. He should stop pretending that protecting clean sport is his intention. Horton is fooling nobody.

If Horton is concerned about Sun Yangs ongoing case and feels that it should preclude him from competition, he is perfectly entitled to his opinion and free to make it known. The mixed zone would have been the appropriate place to do this in interviews and public statements. The competition podium must always be a place where respect, decency, and kindness to ones competitors prevails.

An old saying holds that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Swimming Australia, with the aid of a few Australian government officials and some Australian media outlets, has actually done the public a favor by letting the sunlight in on its real intentions: protecting the image of its own swimmer while sullying that of a decorated Olympian from a competing country. Sun Yang has shown remarkable and commendable professionalism and restraint given the immense and unfair burden that has been placed on his shoulders by some of his fellow athletes.

International sports competitions are meant to be a place where political and cultural differences are set aside as the worlds best athletes compete on a level playing field in a spirit of friendliness. Clean competition is a bottom-line requirement for this spirit to prevail, one that must apply equally to all countries and athletes.

The Shanya Jack incident should teach an important lesson to Swimming Australia, to Mack Horton, and to some of the western media outlets that were so quick to pile up on Sun Yang. The expectation of clean sport should never be used as a bludgeon to selectively kneecap one athlete while giving a pass to others. Fairness, objectivity, and respect for due process must always be maintained and applied equally to everyone.

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China to take effective measures to curb senile dementia official

(Xinhua)13:30, July 30, 2019

BEIJING, July 30 — China will beef up efforts to reduce the incidence rate of senile dementia, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDCP) said Monday.

The country has vowed to slow the growth rate of senile dementia incidence for people aged 65 and above from 2022 to 2030, according to a guideline to implement the countrys Healthy China initiative issued by the State Council earlier this month.

The disease can be prevented by guarding against risk factors, for example, low education levels, said Li Zhixin, an official with the National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention under the CCDCP, at the press conference held by the National Health Commission.

The loss of hearing in midlife, high blood pressure and obesity are closely connected with senile dementia, Li said, adding that other factors include smoking, lack of physical exercise and social interaction, depression and diabetes can contribute.

The country will also launch early screening and intervention of senile dementia, instructing the high-risk population to eat and live in a healthy way and help them control their cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, Li said.

The number of senile dementia patients in China is estimated at more than 9 million. As the countrys population is aging rapidly, it is predicted that the number of senile dementia patients will exceed 40 million by 2050, Li noted. Enditem

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Too much time on smartphones leads to obesity, deadly disease

(Xinhua)17:01, July 29, 2019

NEW YORK, July 27 — Smartphone addiction could lead to serious weight gain and the onslaught of deadly diseases, according to a new study.

Young adults who use their smartphones five or more hours per day have a 43 percent increased risk of obesity and other health-related problems, including heart disease according to Colombian researchers.

Spending too much time in front of the Smartphone facilitates sedentary behaviors and reduces time for physical activity, which increases the risk of premature death, diabetes, heart disease, different types of cancer, osteoarticular discomfort and musculoskeletal symptoms, said Mirary Mantilla-Morron, a cardiac pulmonary and vascular rehabilitation specialist at the Simon Bolivar University (SBU) in Colombia.

The study involved 1,060 students, 700 women and 360 men aged 19 years and 20 years respectively, from the Health Sciences Faculty at the SBU from June to December 2018.

Researchers found that students who are glued to their smartphones were twice as likely to drink more sugary drinks, fast food, sweets, snacks and have decreased physical activity.

Mantilla-Morron, who is also the lead author of the study, said it is important that the general population know and be aware that, although mobile technology is undoubtedly attractive for its multiple purposes, portability, comfort, access to countless services, information and entertainment sources, it should also be used to improve habits and healthy behaviors.

The potential link between technology and obesity is ripe for exploration, as more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide were overweight in 2016, with 650 million obese, according to the World Health Organization.

We have also determined that the amount of time in which a person is exposed to the use of technologies-specifically prolonged cell phone use–is associated with the development of obesity, she added.

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Animated film ‘Ne Zha’ smashes box office records

(China Daily)09:40, July 30, 2019

Chinese animated film Ne Zha has proved to be a big winner in this summers box office.[Photo provided to China Daily]

New animated film based on a mythological figure smashes box-office records, Xu Fan reports.

Smashing box-office records in animation, the film Ne Zhahas proved to be a dark horse, tipped to lift up the Chinese film industry, which has experienced a slowdown in the past five months.

The film, which topped the mainlands ticket-revenue charts for four consecutive days, has grossed more than 800 million yuan ($116 million) since it hit domestic theaters on Friday, according to live box-office tracker Maoyan.

Ne Zhas takings totaled over 100 million yuan in the first day itself, surpassing the threshold figure faster than any other Chinese animated film.

The film has also broken two other box-office records.

By bringing in 138.5 million yuan on its opening day, Ne Zhahas overtaken previous record-holder Despicable Me 3 to top the countrys opening-day charts for animated films. It also earned 225 million yuan on the second day, an increase of 23.3 percent from the record set by DisneysZootopiain terms of single-day box-office rankings for all animated films in China.

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